title: Differentiating cerebellopontine angle meningioma from schwannoma using caloric testing and vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study utilized audiometry, and caloric, ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP) and cervical VEMP (cVEMP) tests to differentiate between cerebellopontine angle (CPA) meningioma and schwannoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven CPA meningioma patients with mean tumor size 2.8±1.4 cm and another 11 CPA schwannoma patients with mean tumor size 2.7±1.0 cm were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent a battery of audiovestibular function tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The two groups did not differ significantly in terms of clinical manifestation. The abnormal percentage of caloric test in the meningioma group was 36%, compared to 91% in the schwannoma group, and thus both groups differed significantly. However, such difference was not observed between the two groups regardless of mean hearing level, oVEMP test and cVEMP test.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Combined caloric with oVEMP test results may help differentiate a CPA tumor. Correlation between the caloric and oVEMP test results in a CPA tumor indicates a schwannoma nature, while dissociation between the caloric and oVEMP test results depicts a meningioma character.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Catholic Cardinal Tien Hospital, Fu-Jen Catholic University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chia-Hung
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Chang-Mu
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yi-Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001299:Audiometry; D002150:Caloric Tests; D002528:Cerebellar Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002530:Cerebellopontine Angle / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008577:Meningeal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008579:Meningioma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017120:Nystagmus, Optokinetic / Q000502:physiology; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D058585:Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Caloric test; Cerebellopontine angle; Cervical vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (cVEMP); Meningioma; Ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potential (oVEMP); Schwannoma